A Devil's Arc
by Moctheusername
Summary: Jaune Arc was your regular ole' orphan-without-memories, which pretty much guaranteed that he was unique/unusual in some way. Now that he's been resurrected as a devil, he can finally realize what exactly that means.


**Hello. Yes, yes, I know that I need to write more for the stories I've already begun and need to stop starting new ones. I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry about. However, the ideas I had for this one were gnawing away at me a bit so I figured that since I can't currently get to my files for some of my other stories, I might as well write down the ideas I had for this one. Guess I have to go through with it now, eh? Without further ado or useless ramblings, here you go. Enjoy (or not).**

**Edit: Nothing much to say, just fixed a few mistakes and adjusted some things. Carry on.**

* * *

"_Son..." The dying man on the ground said, blood pooling around him as his breathing started to slow. In the background flames ravaged everything in sight, burning it all to the ground._

"_Dad!" A young blonde-haired boy cried out as he tried to move towards him. For some reason, however, his legs simply wouldn't move. He could only stand still and watch as his father, the man who raised him and loved him unconditionally, bled out right in front of his eyes._

"_Always remember…" he whispered as his eyes closed, flames overtaking his body. "You are my son. You are Jaune Arc, the-" The last few words he said were drowned out as the flames overtook his body._

"_Dad!" The boy cried one last time as everything turned to black…_

* * *

Jaune bolted out of bed, sweating dripping off of him profusely. He jumped off of the mattress and landed in a crouch, desperately glancing about, trying to find the source of his terror. Then, with a sigh as he realized where he was, he stood up and walked over towards his kitchen to begin his morning routine.

"Third time this week…." He thought to himself as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. For a while now he has been experiencing the same nightmare are over and over again, lately becoming more and more frequent.

Jaune Arc, a boy around seventeen years of age with blonde-hair and blue-eyes, was an orphan ever since he was discovered alone and unconscious in an alley seven years ago. When it was discovered that he remembered nothing about his past and when nobody came to claim him, he was declared a ward of the state. It was only recently that he was allowed to live out on his own and receuve welfare checks. The only reason they allowed him to in the first place was because they made him promise to attend a new school, Kuoh Academy. Apparently it used to be an all-girls school but recently became co-ed. Since they wanted more boys in the school they allowed him to move out to attend. Therefore that was why he currently sitting alone in his apartment, eating cereal in his onesie pajamas.

What? He found them comfortable, he didn't think they were all that bad-looking, and he lived alone, so who cares? Plus if he ate breakfast in them he wouldn't spill on his new uniform so it was a win-win.

Anyways, after he finished eating his cereal he went back to his room and pulled out his uniform, only to frown. He hadn't realized he had to wear a blazer before now. He didn't like them for some reason, probably because they made him feel uncomfortable. Oh well, the rest of it wasn't too bad. Simple black pants with brown shoes, a white dress shirt, and a black ribbon around the collar, they didn't look bad against the black blazer with white outlines. He kept that thought in mind as he put on the uniform, making only one deviation from the standard by putting on his special belt.

The belt was the only thing they had found with him seven years ago. It had been lying only a few feet away from his motionless body, close enough for it to be considered his. It was a simple brown-leather belt with an unique buckle. The buckle in question was a silver-gray square outlined in a color similar to dull brass. In the center of it was two crescent moons tilted over, one above the other. He's had the belt ever since then, somehow still fitting him no matter how much he grew. No matter where he went, even to school, he always kept the belt nearby.

With his belt in place, Jaune took a moment to smooth out his outfit. Then, after going to the bathroom and brushing his teeth quickly, he grabbed his backpack and headed out to his new school, unaware of the fact that soon his entire life would change forever. (**There goes the cliché alarm again. I really need to get the siren hooked up to it.)**

* * *

"Huh." Jaune stated with a cocked head. From the building he could see from the gate it looked surprisingly Western for a Japanese school. It looked more like an English preparatory school than a Japanese academy. After looking at the school one more time, he went through the gate with a shrug and started heading across the grounds, eager to get the day over with.

As he walked, he passed several students and noticed that they were looking at him curiously. Soon enough, they started whispering about him the further he went along..

"Who's that?"

"Is he a new student?

"He looks like a delinquent."

Jaune was already nervous as it was, going to a new school 'n everything, and those comments were _not_ helping. He stopped for a moment to take a deep breath and to think. _Jaune, Jaune, calm down. It's fine. Just give them a smile and wave. That way they'll see that you're friendly and that you're not a delinquent. Go ahead, you can do it. _With his mental pep-talk over, he took another deep breath, smiled in a nervous yet slightly goofy way, and waved at the nearest group of students who just happened to be a group of girls. They giggled as they saw him wave and waved back. As he walked off they began whispering again.

"He seems nice."

"He's actually kinda cute."

"He reminds me of Kiba-kun."

They giggled again. Meanwhile a group of boys saw this and started glaring at the distant figure of one Mr. Jaune Arc.

"Huh, he's doesn't seem that great."

"Hope he's not another Kiba."

"There can't be two princes! I couldn't stand that!"

Oblivious to the whispering surrounding him and his arrival, Jaune was turning a corner around the building to get to the entrance when he bumped into someone. He was sent stumbling backwards, arms windmilling about, while the other person fell to the ground. When he regained his balance he quickly rushed forwards to help the other person back up. Bending over, he reached his hand down towards the person who, by this point he had noticed, had red hair.

"Are you okay?" He asked, only to freeze as the person looked up and he saw the most striking blue eyes he had ever seen. For a moment he simply stared at the sight, before blinking when he realized that she (for she was definitely a she) had already grasped his hand and was waiting to be pulled back up. With his face reddening in embarrassment at his blunder, he pulled her back up, backing up a little as she regained her footing as well.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said, bending over to dust off her magenta skirt. Besides said skirt, her uniform consisted of a white shirt similar to his, a shoulder cape, and a corset identical to his blazer. As he noticed earlier, she had long red hair, mostly in tresses, with one piece sticking up off her scalp and slicking back towards her… well, back.

"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't looking when I turned the corner. Sorry." He said when she stood back up completely.

"It's fine. I'm just glad you weren't hurt." She replied with a smile.

He smiled as well as he reached out his hand again, this time for a handshake. "Well, nice to meet you anyway. My name is Jaune Arc."

"Rias Gremory." She answered as she grabbed his hand in the handshake. They shook hands for a second as they both examined the other. Jaune thought with a small blush that she was very pretty.

After a moment Rias pulled back her hand, still examining Jaune closely. "So, Jaune," she began, "are you an American? You seem a bit like one."

Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, people say that to me a lot. Maybe, I'm not sure."

Rias narrowed her eyes a little but smiled nevertheless. "Hmm, I see. I've never seen you before, are you a new student?"

"Yeah. I'm a second year. Wait a second… Oh dang. I still have to find my classroom before school starts! I'm sorry, Rias, but I have to go! See you later maybe! Bye!" With his parting shout he ran off towards the school entrance, leaving Rias behind at the corner of the school building.

Rias smiled as she watched the retreating boy but, as he faded out of sight, narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Jaune Arc. Hmmm…." She murmured to herself as she walked off to the old school building. Something was telling her to keep an eye on this one. There was something more to him than meets the eye. (**Gosh darn it, the cliché alarm is acting up again. Where is that siren when you need it?!)**

* * *

Jaune leaned against the door, face-first on the planks of wood. His breathing was picking up a bit, coming in and out much faster than what should be normal. Desperately he tried to calm himself as he heard the teacher talk from the other side of the door.

"Class, we have a new student coming in a moment so I want you all to make him feel welcome. He's new to this area as well so take it easy on him, okay?" The teacher's answer was a general mumble of assent. Once more the teacher spoke. "Okay then. Good. On that note, Jaune? You can come in now."

Mustering whatever courage he could, Jaune plastered back on him the same nervous/goofy smile from before, stood up straight, and walked into the room in a (hopefully) confident manner. He walked next to the teacher and stood there anxiously as he looked at his new classmates and they looked at him. Already they were beginning to murmur amongst themselves.

"Hi, everyone. The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." Aww man, why did he introduce himself like that? Now everyone is just going to make fun of him. Now all he could do was just keep smiling and walk to the seat the teacher pointed at. As he made his way between the rows of chairs to his desk, he could hear some of the murmurs around him.

"That's his introduction?"

"Gotta give him points for creativity."

"I actually thought it was kinda cute with that goofy smile he was doing."

Was it just him or did some giggles accompany that last statement? Such was the question on his mind as Jaune sat down in his new seat and tried to make himself comfortable. The brown-haired boy in front of him turned around the moment he did and introduced himself.

"Hi, my name is Issei Hyoudou. Nice to meet you, Jaune."

"Likewise."

"So, Jaune, why did you come to Kuoh Academy?"

"Oh…" Jaune said with a meek smile, "I only came because the government made me in exchange for living on my own."

Issei looked impressed for a moment, giving Jaune a grin. "So you live on your own in exchange for coming here? Nice. Me…" Issei's grin was becoming more lecherous by the second, "I came for the oppai."

"The oppai?"

"Yes!" Issei jumped out of his chair and made some ridiculous pose, one hand on his hip while the other pointed skywards, ignoring the strange looks he was getting. "I came to see and feel a real-life pair of oppai! It is the first step on the path of becoming the harem king! I will bask in their glorious sight!" When he finished, however, he sat back down, a dark raincloud forming over his head. "I still haven't seen a pair yet, though…"

"Well, I'm sorry for you, I guess? I just have one question." Issei looked back up from his depressed slump, curious as what Jaune's question could be. "What's oppai?"

_Wham!_ The moment he heard this, Issei (and all of the other boys listening to the conversation) fell flat on their faces onto the floor. How they did that when they were sitting in chairs, no one knew. The girls, meanwhile, they were looking at him with floored jaws… hold on, are those hearts in their eyes?

"So pure!"

"He is uncorrupted!"

"Finally, a boy who isn't perverted!"

"Okay, who spiked my coffee this morning?"

… Let's just ignore that last comment. Jaune certainly did. While the girls were squealing (mentally, of course) to themselves about this discovery, Issei had, by this point, climbed back into his chair and was staring at Jaune with a shocked expression.

"What?!" He cried out over the girls' yammering, "What do you mean you don't know what oppai are?! Are you even a boy?!"

Jaune merely shrugged in response. "I've heard of the term before, I just don't know what it means."

Apparently that was the wrong (or maybe the right) thing to say. Most of the other boys were glaring at him while Issei gained this self-righteous expression on his face as he struck up an even-more ridiculous pose than before. "Fear not, Jaune!" He yelled, ignoring the teacher that was currently trying (and failing miserably) to calm him and the rest of the class down. "I, the future harem king, will tell you!" He sat back down and leaned in close to Jaune, about to whisper into his ear. "You see, oppai are…"

_Gurgle!_ Issei's lecture on one of his favorite subjects was cut off as several girls promptly tackled him, wrapping their arms around his neck and strangling him, therefore reducing the rest of his statement to a loud gurgle.

"No you don't!" One of them yelled as Issei's face started becoming as blue as a blueberry, "We will not let you corrupt one of the only still-pure boys we have seen! Let him have it, girls!"

Throughout this whole scene, amidst the boys' glaring, the girls' awed stares, and the cries of a strangled Issei, Jaune just sat and watched the teacher hopelessly tried to regain order in the classroom. He sighed as Issei finally lost consciousness and slumped over, out cold. _Well, _he thought to himself as he watched the teacher scramble to grab Issei and take him to the infirmary, _at least it won't be boring here._

* * *

Rias Gremory sat next to her best friend and Queen, Akeno Himejima, as she munched on a carrot and watched Jaune from across the cafeteria. Currently he was flanked by a few giggling girls, some of whom were glaring at a nearby Issei. It looked like that Issei was trying to get close to Jaune, perhaps to tell him something based on his determined, but was being frightened off by the glaring girls. Meanwhile Jaune was just eating his sandwich, appearing to talk to the girls when they said something but otherwise quiet. It looked like he was slightly intimidated from all of the girls around him.

"Ara ara, looks like Kiba has a little competition. And just from one day too." Akeno said with a small giggle, hand covering her mouth.

Rias gave a small smile, eyes never leaving the blonde boy. "Yes, well, apparently he gained a major boost with the girls when he said, and I quote, 'What's oppai?'"

That made the black-haired girl raise one of her eyebrows. "Really? He said that?"

Her answer was a quick nod. "Yes. Everyone I asked from his class said so. Even the teacher."

Akeno's eyes widened for a moment before a smirk came to her face. "Ufufufu, so Buchou-sama has been asking about him? Has she fallen under his innocent charms?"

"Akeno, you've felt it too, right?" Rias asked, ignoring her friend's teasing tone.

Instantly, Akeno's expression turned serious. "Yes, I have."

"At first I suspected Issei but, compared to Jaune when I met him today, I realize that was incorrect. Jaune, instead, is the one with the Sacred Gear. And I suspect that we are not the only one's who noticed."

Akeno nodded. "I agree. Recently I've felt some Fallen Angel signatures very near the school. I assume it's because they have felt him as well because they would have no other reason to be around here. We must act quickly."

"Agreed."

For a few more minutes they watched the unsuspecting blonde. Then, out of the blue, Rias piped up again as Jaune gave a sheepish smile to one of the girls who then giggled in response. "There's just one more thing…."

Knowing that Akeno was giving her a curious look, Rias continued. "That's not all I felt. Sometimes, for the briefest moment, I feel another signature lurking within him. Something familiar…. Whatever it is, though, we should watch him. We need to find the right moment to act before someone else does."

Their conversation concluded, the two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy ate the rest of their lunch and kept a close eye on the blonde-haired mystery.

* * *

"Huff, finally, the day's over." Jaune murmured to himself as he started heading back to his apartment.

Today was… interesting to say the least. Not the classes, oh no. They were the same uninteresting doldrums they always were. No, what was interesting was how his classmates treated him. Whenever he would try to talk to a male classmate they would normally glare at him and stomp off, usually muttering something about "… stinking princes. Not again." Issei would sometimes try to approach him, probably with the intent to 'instruct' him about oppai, but he would be beaten viciously by some random girls every time he did.

That's another thing, too. For some reason girls would just giggle when he walked by and whenever he smiled at a group of them they would squeal and huddle closer together. Some even followed him around a little, sometimes whispering things like "…a second Prince Charming. Kuoh Academy's second prince. The only pure boy left." Stuff like that. It was starting to creep him out and he had to go back again tomorrow!

"I just don't know what's up with them. Maybe it was something I said?" Jaune said out loud, crossing a bridge near his apartment as the sun started to set in the background. He suddenly saw Issei walking in the distance, a raincloud hovering over his head. Occasionally a cry of "How does he not know?! He's a second-year boy for oppai's sake!" could be heard coming from his direction.

Jaune smiled when he saw him. Say what you will about his perverted tendencies but he was actually a nice guy. Considering that he was the only boy who was somewhat cordial to him today, Jaune wouldn't getting to know him better. He was just about to run and catch when he suddenly felt someone tapping his shoulder. Blinking, he turned around.

Facing him was a girl with black hair around his age with violet eyes. She had on a dark red jacket, a green skirt with a white stripe wrapped around the bottom, and a red bow. She currently had her head down as she grasped her schoolbag tightly, apparently working up her courage for something. Then, with a speed that had Jaune blinking in surprise, she pulled her head up and practically yelled "Will you go out with me?!"

"….. Um, who are you?" Pretty girl asks him out and that's the first thing he says. Makes one wonder about him. Still, who could blame him?

"Oh, um, I'm Yuuma Amano. You're Jaune Arc, correct?"

"Y-Yes, I guess?" Hey, that rhymed. (No, really? Somebody give the guy a prize. I mean, who could have realized it? Oh, wait, everybody. Moving on.)

"Please, will you go out with me?" The girl was practically shaking with apprehension by now and Jaune's heart went out with her. He knew that feeling, h*ll, he experienced it just hours before. Who was he to deny someone who obviously had to work up a lot of nerve to ask him? He could respect that.

So, ignoring the cry of 'D*mn you Jauunnnnnneee!' ringing in the background, Jaune smiled at the nervous girl and said, "Sure, why not?"

The girl's eyes widened. "R-really?"

Jaune just kept smiling. "Really. You were obviously really nervous yet you still managed to ask me. How could I deny someone who would do that for me? I sure couldn't have done it."

The girl gave him a big smile as she bowed. "Thank you so much! How about we meet back here in thirty minutes?"

"Okay. It's a date then."

"Great!" The girl gave him another smile as she turned around and started to run off. She stopped midway and turned back towards him, giving him one last smile as she said "I'm really happy that you agreed!"

Jaune waved as she turned away and ran off. He smiled for a moment before his eyes widened as he realized something. "Wait, thirty minutes? Cr*p, I gotta go home and change!" With that thought in mind, he dashed across the bridge as well, leaving behind a moping Issei who was leaning onto the rail. Issei turned his head to look at the rapidly-disappearing boy, sniffed back up some dripping mucus, and said to himself. "One day. One flipping day and he already got a girlfriend. Well, d*mn you, Jaune. D*mn you." Issei had no idea of how truly ironic his words would soon turn out.

* * *

"Well, I guess I should stop and quickly grab some flowers. Girls like flowers, right? I think they do anyway…" Jaune took this moment of personal wondering to stop and look around where he was at. He had ended up in a small shopping plaza, standing at the corner between the main street and several side roads. Pedestrians hustled around him while traffic move sluggishly in the streets. Despite the setting sun, the area was bustling with activity as last-minute shoppers raced to get their purchases down before the stores closed shortly. It was a pretty busy place.

"Are these the right clothes for a date? Do I have time to go back and change? No, better hope they are good enough." Jaune thought as he glanced down as his current outfit.

After racing home earlier, Jaune dashed into his bedroom and put on his normal casual outfit. It consisted of a pair of black sneakers, some blue jeans (because what teenage boy doesn't wear those?), his special belt, a short-sleeved black t-shirt, and finally an orange, zip-up, and sleeveless hoodie (**Yeah, you can see where I went with this).** It was loose and comfortable, exactly what Jaune liked in clothes.

"Let's see, let's see, flower shop, flower shop, where 'o where is a flower shop?" Jaune mused to himself, scanning the various storefronts as people kept bumping into him. He was just about to move and see if he could spot one when some random lady in some sort of a bat cosplay outfit came up to him.

"Here, kid, take a flyer." The lady said, giving him a wink as she handed him a flyer and walked off. Jaune looked at the flyer, confused. All he saw was a series of strange circular markings that he didn't understand and something about a wish.

"Odd…." He looked around, trying to find the lady, but she apparently vanished into thick air (there was a lot of smog around that area of town). He did, however, end up spotting a flower shop across the road. "Sweet, a flower shop! Something about what I just said sounded off…" Either way, he ran in that direction (jaywalking by the way) quickly, eager to get flowers in time for his date.

* * *

"(Giggle) I had fun, Jaune. Thank you for taking me out on this date." Yuuma said to him as they walked over to the fountain, her arm wrapped around his.

Jaune smiled as he said, "You're welcome, Yuuma. Thank you for asking me out." It was fun. First Jaune gave her some roses he got at the flower shop which she took happily. They then went and had dinner at this quaint little diner (who know there were American-50's-inspired diners in the middle of Japan?), they walked around the town a bit and just talked, they visited an arcade briefly, played some games there, and even went and got some ice-cream. Now they were in a park at her suggestion, finishing up the date just as the sun was about to finish setting (just how long are sunsets?).

"Um, Jaune?" She detached herself from his arm and turned away, facing the fountain as the sun dipped lower.

"Yes, Yuuma?"

"I have a favor to ask you." Man, he just knew it. What girl would ever _want _to go out with him without some sort of catch? It was too good to be true, like always.

Internally he sighed, externally he maintained his smile as he responded, "Sure. What is it?"

She turned back to him. Then, with closed eyes, she asked with a smile, "Would you die for me?"

… Hold on. Just a few moments, ladies and gentlemen. We are having some technical difficulties in Jaune's brain but it should be resolved in one moment. Just one more second and….. he's back.

"Come again?" Okay, perhaps not.

Her smile grew more demented as she repeated her question, "Would you die for me?" Then, in a flash of purple light, she grew bigger in more ways than one. Her outfit began dissolving (which made Jaune redden a bit despite the situation) and was replaced by leather straps and such that strategically covering her more… 'private' areas as a set of black wings grew on her back. Somehow she grew boots! How does someone grow boots in the first place?! Then again how does one suddenly become older and grow wings?

Once she finished shifting her form, she appeared to Jaune to be older, less modest, and... more evil.

Jaune began backing up, practically shaking as 'Yuuma' landed on the ground. She raised a hand in front of her face, appearing to be examining her fingernails.

"Well," she said in a lower voice which, if Jaune wasn't already on the verge of running away screaming (which actually would have been rather smart), would have caused him to blink in surprise, "I have to admit that I had fun today, especially since you are actually somewhat nice and polite. And you didn't stare at my breasts. Thank you. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to not do that?"

Jaune actually blinked for that one. With that outfit she had on currently, she was kinda asking for it.

"Think about it. That Issei boy, for example. For a while we thought he had a Sacred Gear until you came along. I was actually going to ask him out soon for this exact situation. Anyways, how much you want to bet that he would have just stared at my breasts the entire time? So thanks."

It could have been just his imagination but Jaune could have almost sworn that he heard a distant shout of 'D*mn you, Jaune!' It's probably just his imagination. Wait, focus, Jaune! Look at the demon lady who's about to kill you!

"Thanks for the flowers. Very nice for a first date. Still…" her eyelids lowered a bit, her smile gained a very creepy aspect, and her hands started forming a strange shimmering light. Within moments a pink spear that seemed to be made out of light formed in her hand. She pulled back, preparing to toss it straight into Jaune's chest. Just as she was about to release it, she smiled and said "Time to die, Jaune."

What was Jaune doing this whole time? Was he screaming, panicking, or saying his prayers? Nope. He just stood there like a deer in the headlights. Knowing what was about to happen but powerless to stop it. His final thoughts were something like _No. Please No. Someone, something, help me. Protect me._ Unbeknownst to the two, Jaune's belt buckle began to glow.

"Die!" The hand went forward and the spear flew towards him. He watch it spiral closer and closer and closer… Just before it hit, Jaune closed his eyes.

…..Umm, isn't there supposed to be gut-wrenching amounts of pain right now along with a bright white light? Oh wait, there it is. Why isn't he moving then? What's going on?

Jaune opened his eyes and received the shock of his life (well, besides the whole thing about his date trying to kill him). Wrapped around his right arm for no apparent reason was a shield. A shield that had appeared out of nowhere and stopped the light spear from piercing his chest. It was kite-shaped, white with gold trim at the top, and contained the same two crescent moons from his belt which, mysteriously (**no****t really, no), **vanished from his pants. The spear from earlier was still digging into it, trying to pierce through and strike at its intended target. He stared at the shield in shock for a moment before shaking his head. He grabbed the spear sticking out of the shield and, ignoring the sharp pain it was causing his hand, yanked it out of the shield and threw it to the ground nearby, where it dissolved moments later.

"Where in the world did that come from?!" shouted 'Yuuma'. For a moment she looked almost angry before calming down and narrowing her eyes. "Interesting Sacred Gear, Jaune. I have never seen one quite like it before. Soon I will never have to see it again!" At that she summoned a few more spears and tossed them at Jaune.

Jaune, when he saw the spears coming in, acted upon instinct. He swung his shield and knocked one out of the air, using the momentum from his swing to dodge another one. He landed back in a crouch, just in time to avoid yet another. Seeing that he had an opportunity, he charged at his date, screaming a battle-cry.

By this point 'Yuuma' had widened her eyes and dropped her mouth in shock. "Oh no…" she whispered as Jaune leaped at her, shield raised for one mighty bash. Then, when Jaune was less than a foot away, she narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Psych."

Jaune stopped mid-leap. One would wonder how he did that until one looked down and saw the light spear that had been thrusted into his stomach. Then, with a loud _squich_, 'Yuuma' pulled the spear out of his stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground with blood squirting out of his stomach in impressive amounts. She dissolved the spear as she stood over Jaune's dying body and smiled at him in an arrogant way.

"Impressive, Jaune." She said as his blood jetted into the air, "You managed to avoid immediate death. You should give yourself a pat on the back. If you can still move your arms, that is."

"W-w-" Jaune had to spit out at least a cup of blood trying to get his words out. "Why?"

"Oh, because you had a Sacred Gear that threatened us and we couldn't just let you run around with it. Besides, don't blame me. Blame-"

"No… don't care 'bout…. Sacred whatever….. why…. ask me…. on date?" Considering the amount of blood pooled around Jaune at this point, it was amazing that he could still talk even with the long pauses and the horrible grammar.

Did she…. did she just giggle? "Because I'm a Fallen Angel. Fallen Angels are liars and manipulators by their nature. This was the easiest way to get you to an isolated location to kill you. Just feel grateful that I gave you a great date today because it was your last. Don't feel too bad. I enjoyed it too. Bye-bye, Jaune. Have fun dying." With a final mocking laugh she flew off, leaving the blonde-haired teen bleeding out in front of the fountain just as the sun finished setting over the horizon.

_Why…_ As he began to lose consciousness, Jaune had one last moment of reflection. _Why did I have to die? I didn't do anything, not one thing comes to mind. All I did was go to a new school today and I ended up getting killed. Why? I'm dying and my only thought is why. I guess this is it… Goodbye world…It was nice knowing you…_

"NO!" Somehow, someway, Jaune managed to find the last bits of his strength to shout out the word between fits of coughing up blood. "I refuse to die! I wish to live! I want to live! I WILL LIVE! DO YOU HEAR ME, WORLD?! I….WILL…..LIVE!" As the final word left his lips, he shut his eyes to the world, just about to pass on.

He didn't notice this but the flyer he had put in his pocket earlier came flying out, glowing with an unusual crimson light. In a flash of crimson, Rias stood at the scene, looking at Jaune as he slowly bled out.

"They acted much sooner than expected. I thought we would have had at least another day before this point. Nevertheless, it has come and I need to act upon it." She walked closer to the blonde-haired boy, whose breathing was currently slowing and his blood was pouring out sluggishly, and bent over him, peering at his blood-stained face. "Yes, he is definitely dying. I should act quickly." Just as she was just about to grab her pouch that contained her Evil Pieces, she noticed the small holes scattered around the fountain.

"So he managed to avoid a few of the attacks. Excellent. Already he's proven that he could be useful." She grabbed her pouch and was just about to pull out her pawns when she had a second thought. "No. He avoided some attacks which means that he was fast. I should capitalize on that." She rummaged around a bit more and pulled out her last knight piece. It wasn't an ordinary one, oh no. It was a mutated piece.

Normally it's very lucky to get even one mutated piece so imagine her surprise when, in addition to a mutated bishop, she received a mutated knight back when she first got her Evil Piece set. Among even other mutated pieces, however, this one stood out a little more. It was warped in an odd way compared to the others and the color was of a darker red than most pieces. What exactly this meant, no one besides Ajuka Beelzebub himself knew and he wasn't talking.

Nevertheless, she pulled out the knight piece and set it on his chest. Then she backed up a bit and began chanting as a circular red symbol surrounded Jaune's body. "In the name of Rias Gremory, I call to Jaune Arc. Hear my command. Return thy soul from the shadows of Death to the human realm. Rise once more as my demon servant. Rejoice, for you have been given new life. Wake as my mutated knight. Wake as a devil of the Underworld. Awaken, Jaune Arc."

Suddenly a blast of dark energy blew Rias off her feet as it swarmed towards Jaune's body from out of nowhere. The wind howled as it surrounded his body, coating him in an immense cloak of demonic energy. The mutated piece started glowing, changing into a color as black as night as it sunk into Jaune's chest. Then, with one final burst of energy, the cloak faded away as, suddenly, a set of large bat wings grew out of Jaune's back, larger than even her own. Almost immediately they shrunk back down and everything quieted down once more.

Rias slowly moved, weary of causing any more strange reactions. "That's unusual. Normally energy doesn't swarm to the body like that and they don't usually grow wings immediately, especially ones as large as those." She finally reached Jaune, whose wounds started to heal up as she approached, and started examining his signature. What she found caused her eyes to widen in genuine shock.

"What? How? How in the world is he now a pure-blooded devil?! Even the strongest mutated pieces don't convey much more than five-eighths devil blood, so how is this possible?!" She thought deeply for a second before a thought hit her. "Of course! The reason his signature feel so familiar earlier was because his blood was already partially devil! Now with the mutated piece boosting his natural devil blood, it turned him into a genuine pure-blooded devil."

"It does raise a few questions though, like why didn't he mention me being a devil or at least hint at it? Anyone with devil blood could sense others with it as well when taught, so maybe no one did? Is he an orphan?" Rias gave Jaune an appraising look as the latter slept there, already healed from his fight and now just sleeping peacefully. "You certainly are a mysterious one, Jaune. I will need to learn more about you."

* * *

Jaune yawned as the teacher droned on and on, trying to teach them trigonometry. Unfortunately for her, most of the students were either talking to one another or staring out the window in boredom. For a moment he thought a few girls were looking at him but, when he turned to face them, they seemed to be listening to the teacher intently. Yet he could have sworn he kept feeling their eyes on him whenever he wasn't looking. Oh well, let them stare. He had other things on his mind.

That strange dream he had last night for example. He vaguely remembered something about flowers, black wings, a shield, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. Next thing he knew, he was waking up in bed just as his alarm rang to have him get ready for school. He shook it off as a dream but why were there bloodstains on some of his clothes then? Why was he so tired if he had been sleeping the whole time?

"Jaune?" His thought process was interrupted by a voice piercing his mental fog. He looked up from his downwards position to see the teacher and all of the students staring at him.

"I'm sorry, come again? I'm a bit tired today so I didn't hear you."

"That's alright, Jaune," said the teacher with a smile, "I was just saying that you have been summoned to the Occult Research Club and that Kiba here has been sent to escort you." It was only then that Jaune noticed the blonde-haired boy standing next to the teacher.

"Oh, okay. Coming." Jaune stood up from his seat and made his way to the front of the classroom. Kiba gave him a quick nod before turning back to the teacher.

"I am here to escort Issei Hyoudou as well. Is he here?"

"No…." went the teacher, her smile morphing into a frown, "he's out sick today."

Jaune frowned. Issei had seemed just fine to him yesterday. How could he come down with something so fast?

"Alright then. We will let you resume teaching, sensei. Thank you for letting us borrow Jaune for a bit." Kiba said with a bow.

The teacher's frown turned back into a smile. It was a little creepy how fast she did that. It reminded him of a clown. "Of course. Bring him back whenever you are finished with him."

"Thank you." With that Kiba left the room amidst cries of "Kiba, our prince!", prompting Jaune to follow him.

The two fellow blondes walked in silence for a few minutes before Jaune realized that they were heading towards the exit to the building.

"Um, Kiba? I thought we were heading to the Occult Research Club?" Jaune asked in a confused tone.

Kiba grinned at him as he answered, exiting the building in the process, "We are. Buchou-sama managed to get the club based in the old school building so that we could have it all to ourselves."

"Buchou-sama?"

"Oh, that's what us members of the club call Rias. You met her, right?"

"Yeah… I think I did yesterday…." Jaune replied as the old school building came into view. It was noticeably smaller than the new building and appeared more Gothic in design. Jaune didn't have much time to examine the building, however, because Kiba made him move along. After entering the building and going down halls with the occasional stair-climb, they finally reached the clubroom. Kiba went in first, gesturing for Jaune to follow afterwards, which he did.

The main centerpiece of the room was a large circle engraved on the floor, which reminded Jaune of the flyer he thought he saw in his dream except that this one was in red. Surrounding the circle was several large and comfortable couches, upon one of which sat a younger girl with white hair munching on some sort of sweet. She gave him a quick disinterested look before returning to her sweet. Jaune had begun raise his hand in greeting when he saw her look at him but put it back down when she looked away. Kiba chuckled as he showed Jaune to one of the nearby couches.

"Wait here one moment, okay, Jaune? Buchou-sama should be back shortly."

"Alright." As Kiba walked off, a black-haired girl he hadn't seen before walked up to him with a tray holding a tea cup.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Jaune-kun?" She asked him sweetly, moving the tray closer to him. He smiled and nodded as he picked up a cup and sipped from it.

"It's very good. Thank you. What's your name?" He asked as he kept holding the steaming cup of tea.

She gave him a smile as she answered, "I am Akeno Himejima. It's nice to meet you, Jaune-kun."

"Likewise." At that moment Rias walked into the room. She gave him a quick nod as she moved towards a desk he hadn't noticed across the room and sat in it, looking quite elegant as she did so.

"Hello, Jaune. It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Rias. Nice to see you again too. Um, I was wondering why you called me down here? I mean, I didn't know there even was an Occult Research Club so getting summoned here was surprising."

"Straight to the point, aren't you? Very well." Rias dug around in the papers littering the desk, tossing a few into a nearby trashcan in the process. Finally she seemed to find what she was looking for and pulled up a single sheet of paper, the contents hidden from his view.

"You are because this being (she turned the paper around and revealed that it was a photo of 'Yuuma', causing Jaune to gasp in surprise) was a Fallen Angel named Raynare, though she probably introduced herself as Amano Yuuma. To put it simply, yesterday she killed you. You died."

Jaune's eyes kept widening and widening as she continued, grasping at his chest in the meanwhile. "So…" he whispered to himself, "it wasn't a dream after all."

"No, it wasn't." Jaune practically jumped when he heard her respond to his whispered statement. How did she hear that?! "She killed you because you possessed a Sacred Gear."

"A Sacred Gear?" Jaune interrupted her, confusion starting to become his principal tone instead of the previous shock. "I think I remember her mention them a few times. What's a Sacred Gear?"

Rias waved his question off. "Hold on one moment, let me finish. She killed you and you were left to die on the ground. Fortunately for you, your desire to live was powerful enough for that flyer you received earlier to summon me. As I watched you bleed out, I decided to step in and resurrect you as a member of my peerage."

"Peerage?"

"Yes. Peerage. A group of lower-class devils binded to serve a higher-ranking devil."

"Huh, I sorta see. Wait, devils? You mean…"

"I see that you caught on." Rias gave him a sly smile upon seeing open-mouthed expression. "Yes, Jaune, we are all devils. Including you."

As if on cue, everyone else in the room revealed large bat wings on their backs, even the white-haired girl in the corner. Jaune glanced at all of the bat wings and started backing up, panicking, before he felt something bump against the wall. Turning his head slowly, he caught sight of his own set of bat wings brushing against the plaster. What little color that had remained in his face drained away as he shouted the first thing that came to his mind.

"Oh my G*d! OW!" A rather painful headache pierced his skull the moment he said the words, causing him to collapse to the ground in pain.

"By the way, devils cannot normally involve themselves in anyway with anything holy, anything at all. That includes saying… well, what you just said. It causes them pain and bad headaches so most devils just leave all things holy alone." Rias said in a lecturing tone as Jaune continued rolling around the floor in pain.

The white-haired girl merely murmured "St*pid boy" as she continued eating her sweet.

After the last of pain faded away, Jaune managed to stumble his way back onto his feet, wincing as some phantom remnants still poked at his mind. He gave Rias a sideways look as he grunted, "Okay, if we assume that everything you're saying is true and I have no reason to believe that it isn't, what is this peerage thing you mentioned? I'm still going to freak out later but for now I'm listening before the shock sets in."

"Well," Rias began as Akeno poured her a cup of tea, "I will explain all of the specifics later but here is the basic premise. You know chess, right?" Jaune nodded his response to the question. "A peerage is based around a set of chess pieces called an Evil Piece set that allows High-Class devils to resurrect 'servants' for them, for the lack of a better word. Some treat their peerages like slaves while others like myself treat them in a more 'familial' way."

"Each member of a peerage has different abilities based on what Evil Piece was used to resurrect them. Knights like Kiba (Rias gestured towards the blonde standing nearby) are very fast and mobile. Unfortunately they also have poor defense so they rely on dodging rather than taking blows. I don't think you've met Koneko (she gestured to the white-haired girl in the corner. Jaune waved at her, getting only a blank look in response) but she is our rook. They have enhanced durability and strength, making them great at defense and offense. Their downside is that they are usually very slow, causing them trouble when faced against someone like Kiba."

"There are two types of pieces that I currently have unused. Bishops possess high reserves of magic and are excellent support while pawns are generally the front-liners. They don't possess any unique attributes alone but, either in enemy territory or by their King's permission, they can 'promote' and temporarily gain the attributes of any other piece besides the King."

"Now we are down to our last two pieces. Akeno is my Queen. She has the abilities of rooks, knights, and bishops, making her very powerful and balanced. The final piece is the King, which, in our case, would be me. The King simply means that I am the master of the peerage. That is what a peerage is basically in a nutshell. Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah, I think so…" Jaune still looked a little confused but he would figure it all out later probably. "So what piece am I?"

"Technically, you are a knight." Was it just him or does Rias seem to be slightly nervous? Apparently he wasn't the only one to think so because Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko were giving her odd looks.

"Technically?"

"W-well…" She DEFINITELY seemed nervous, there was no longer any doubt. "There are these special pieces called Mutated Pieces. They are stronger and more powerful than regular Evil Pieces and could resurrect stronger people than the regular ones as well. They are special because only one devil in ten gets one, sometimes not even that. I managed to get two somehow. One was a bishop and the other was a knight. Yet, the knight piece was odd even for a Mutated Piece. It was warped in a strange way and the color was different than the norm. I wasn't even sure it was a knight until Ajuka Beelzebub, the creator of the Evil Piece system, told that it was. And that's not all."

Rias took a deep breath before she met the curious gazes of her peerage. "You see, Jaune, most of the time when someone is resurrected as a devil they retain their old race while also gaining the features of devils, becoming a hybrid of the two. Say, oh I don't know, a vampire. It would become a vampiric devil rather than just a devil, you see?"

Jaune gave her a nod, his face completely serious, before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head and his serious expression morphed into one of horror. "Wait a minute! You mean that vampires are real?!" Jaune turned around and ran towards the door, almost making it out before Kiba caught him by the arm. Rias remained seated at her desk and raised an eyebrow while Akeno giggled.

"Ufufufu, seems that our little kohai has a fear of vampires. Better not introduce him to Gasper then."

"Not the time for that, Akeno." Rias said to her Queen as Kiba dragged the still-struggling-to-escape boy back to one of the couches. Rias then returned her attention to Jaune. "Just exactly what you were going to do, Jaune?"

"I need to go stock up on garlic and holy water before they come for me!" Jaune practically shouted to her. Akeno's giggling grew louder as Rias gave Jaune a deadpan look.

"You do realize that garlic doesn't actually affect them and that holy water would just hurt you too, right?"

"Ohh… right…." Jaune murmured to himself. In the background he could hear a whisper of "St*pid boy" but, when he turned around, all he saw was Koneko eating her sweet as quietly as ever. He returned his attention back to Rias as she brought herself back to the original topic.

"Anyway, for humans it is slightly different. When they become a devil they simply become a devil because humans have no defining abilities. However, some believe that those who are born devils, whose blood is completely devil without the slightest trace of human blood, have 'pure' blood when compared to reincarnated devils. Ergo the term pure-blooded devil. I, for one, would be considered one."

"Okay… so what does this have to do with me? No offense, I mean." Jaune quickly tried to rectify his statement, hoping that Rias wouldn't consider that insulting.

"None taken. I bring it up because, according to your signature now, you are also a pure-blooded devil."

"What?" Akeno was the one who asked the obvious question, Kiba stared at him in shock, and even Koneko raised both of her eyebrows at the news. "How could that be? Maybe it was just a one-time reading?" Akeno peered at Jaune closely, only widen her eyes in suprise. "It's true… he does read like one now…. But how is that possible?"

"I have a theory, Akeno." Rias interjected. "Remember Jaune's initial signature? Where I thught I detected something familiar? I suspect that seemed so because Jaune already possessed a large amount of devil blood, making hs signature similar to our own."

"Wait, I have a question." Surprisingly, Jaune seemed rather unperturbed by the sequence of events. Then again, he is rather new to this whole 'devil' thing so maybe the gravity of the situation hasn't set in yet. "If someone was already part devil and if resurrecting someone adds devil blood to them, couldn't any part-devil become a pure-blooded one?"

"No, Jaune." Rias said to him with a completely serious look. "You are either born a pure-blooded devil or you aren't one at all. In every case there always had been at least a quarter human left in all devil-human hybrids. Until you, that is."

"Oh dang…" See? It only took him a few minutes to get up to speed. "Hold on, I was already part devil? Does that mean one of my parents was a devil?"

"Absolutely. Has either of them ever struck you as odd?"

"Actually…" Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he explained, "I can't remember anything before I woke up in an alley when I was ten. When I was found I was declared an orphan and no one ever claimed me. So if it relates to my parents, I can't help you."

Rias nodded. She had suspected that he was an orphan so the news was unsurprising. "Okay. One more thing before you return to class, Jaune. It's about your Sacred Gear."

"Oh yeah, you were going to tell me about them. What are they?" Jaune honestly wanted to know since he had been hearing it a lot lately but no one ever told him what they were. It was starting to bug him.

Rias smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Jaune, I will have to explain what they are to you later. I just want you to try and summon yours right now. Will you try?"

Jaune simply shrugged. "Sure, why not? It beats going back to learning math."

This time Rias' smile gained a more genuine feel. "Excellent. Now I want you to stand in a pose that makes you feel empowered and try to use all of your desire to summon it forth."

"Okay…." With some slight hesitation, Jaune bent his knees as he raised his arms above his head, pantomiming a great downward slash from a sword. He closed his eyes as he focused all of his desire on trying to summon his Sacred Gear. He can do this.

…. He cracked an eye a few minutes later as everyone stared him, mostly with expectation (Akeno, on the other hand, stared in amusement at his choice in pose). He opened his eyes, dropped his arms, and straightened. He looked around, expecting some sort of change, but upon finding none he focused back on Rias and asked "Did it work?"

"No, it didn't, Jaune. Perhaps a different pose?" Rias said in a slightly…. disappointed tone?

For the next ten minutes Jaune tried a variety of different poses, each more ridiculous than the last, before he finally sighed and released his latest pose (that of a really cheesy thinker), preparing to announce his failure to Rias. _I tried so hard too... I don't want to disappoint them. If only someone or something could help me. Please, help me. _

"Rias," he began with a disappointed sigh, "I don't think-" He was interrupted by a bright flash of light, causing him and everyone else in the room to blink. When the light faded from their eyes, they saw Jaune standing there slack-jawed at a shield hanging off of his arm.

"It's back…" he whispered to himself, forgetting that others where on the room, "The shield from the dream… it's back."

"Impressive, Jaune." His quiet musings to the shield was interrupted by a certain red-haired King. "You finally brought it out for us to see." She narrowed her eyes as she peered closer at the shield. "I've never heard of a Sacred Gear that was a shield before though…" With a blink she shook herself out of her mini-reverie.

"Well," she said, standing up from behind her desk, "it appears that another suspicion of mine was correct. Since your Sacred Gear already physically manifested itself, its reading was enlarged by a large portion, making others seem weaker in comparison. It makes me suspect that Issei had a Sacred Gear after all…"

Rias turned her head towards Kiba. "Kiba, did you get Issei?"

Kiba shook his head. "No, Buchou-sama, his teacher said that he was out sick today."

Rias gained a scowl that looked unnatural upon her pretty face. "I hope that we aren't too late. Kiba, track down Issei as soon as possible. I don't want him captured by the Fallen Angels."

"Yes, Buchou-sama!" At that, Kiba ran out of the classroom. Rias turned to face Jaune once more.

"You probably should return to class. You have a lot to think about, after all."

Jaune blinked, then chuckled. "You got that right. Hopefully it will make class less tedious." Jaune ran out of the room as well with only a parting wave and a quick cry of "Have a good one, everybody!"

Rias chuckled at her newest peerage-member's last cry. He certainly was an interesting one.

* * *

**Done. I don't really have a lot to say so I'm just going to hurry it up.**

**Do the characters sound right? I don't have a very good grasp on the High School Dxd so some constructive criticism in this area would be immensely helpful.**

**Jaune and the shield won't be the only RWBY elements in this story. Just wanted to point that out.**

**So, uh, I guess that's it. Always remember this one thing. Don't stop Believin'! On that note, have a good one, everybody. Bye.**


End file.
